Suspended Love, Day 2

While the halls aren’t nearly as eerie as the day before, they still remain slightly empty. The normal sounds and conversations are making their way back to the school. Sounds that included a screaming group of excited cheerleaders.

“Amber girl, I want to hear everything!” Tanya said impatiently as she’s not one to be denied any details pertaining to hookups.

“Wait, who’s the guy?” one cheerleader near the back whispered to another.

“I guess that’s one way to reward the fight starter!” the sexy Donna Morris said with a devilish smile.

Amber couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face as her fellow cheerleaders seemed to gush around her. Amber didn’t intend to say anything so soon about her and Zack, but the words seemed to just spill out when asked why she seemed extra perky, even for her. She hasn’t had many times so far that she’s felt like part of the group until this moment. This made her happy in more ways than one. She knew that Azure Rocks really could be different from everywhere else after all. After a rough start due to some of the more conniving students, she has found a guy that she was smitten with and is maybe meeting some real friends. Amber was on a new level of joy.

“Well, we now know that Amber is firmly team basketball…” Sharon couldn’t help adding from near the back of the group before pushing her way forward. Her annoyed and sarcastic tone wasn’t nearly as hidden as she would have liked. Tanya gave her a sharp look but was interrupted before she could question the always scheming redhead.

Heather and Ashley saw their fellow cheer squad all fired up and giggly about something and were a little curious to what they were missing. Heather was both annoyed at their perkiness first thing in the morning but also being left out of something within her own cheer squad.

“Why are you hyper bitches acting like you just found Mr. Lincoln’s missing bag of ‘flour’?” “That didn’t happen again, did it?” Heather said dripping with sarcasm that now shifted most of the focus towards her. Ashley just sat there while distracted with other thoughts and couldn’t be disturbed by Heather’s natural way of demanding attention.

“It looks like your cousin may have a newly discovered cheerleader kink. First Madison and now we are just finding out about blondie here.” Tanya said while playfully elbowing Amber and looking back and forth from Amber to Heather in anticipation of the brunette captain’s reaction. Ashley let out a light gasp at Tanya’s words before noticing that she was actually talking about Amber. Ashley sat silently while also nervous about what Heather was going to say.

Heather fought the urge to check in on Ashley and just gave her shoulders a slight shrug while maintaining a disinterested face. “For fuck’s sake, do you whores need a signup sheet for when he’s ready to move on to the next? Oh, and if you’re doing it to gain favor with me, keep dreaming. For a few of you…” Heather said while gazing sharply at several girls, “I guess I can’t blame you. I mean screwing my cousin is probably the closest you’ll ever get to being in my pants.” Several girls laughed loudly while a few looked away with possible guilt. Amber was left mostly confused by the whole conversation and with more questions than she had time to get answers to. Were the girls playfully teasing her or making fun of her? Why would Heather seem so uninterested in who Zack likes, and not be happy for him? Amber knew about Zack and Madison seemingly having some type of feelings, but a cheerleader fetish? Are there more girls? Is Zack just a player like the others? Amber tried her best to keep the happy smile plastered on her face that was now starting to fade with these uncertainties.

Ashley was relieved at not being called out herself but was quite shocked to hear about Zack and Amber. She clearly knew that the two of them had been spending plenty of time together but really Amber? ‘There’s no way that Amber can be his type. This has to be a rebound situation.’ Ashley continued to think silently as most of the girls seemed to take it all in jest and move about their day. Heather leaned into Ashley’s ear while giving the startled girl a light pinch on the ass, “Sure is a good thing that you moved on, right?” Heather made her way off with her own cheer entourage following behind her. The only two remaining girls who were having far different thoughts were Ashley and Amber.

‘This is not a part of my plan!’ Ashley continued in her thoughts as anger and frustration were starting to set in. She looked up at Amber bitterly but quickly adjusted when she saw that the happy girl looked a little troubled herself. Ashley didn’t have anything personally against Amber after all and is a sucker for trying to cheer people up.

“So… You and Zack, huh? You lucky bitch.” Ashley said breaking the silence, as Amber suddenly snapped her face towards her and seemed to miss the playful tone. “I’m only teasing you. He’s a great guy Amber. I’m just saying… that you did well for yourself girl.” Ashley followed up as she tried to adjust her tone and be friendly to the girl regardless of the thoughts swimming through her head. She stepped a bit closer to the confused blonde and continued the small talk with her. “Don’t let the rest of the girls get to you. They literally can’t help themselves sometimes.” Ashley said with a roll of her eyes and a warming smile towards Amber.

Amber was appreciative that Ashley was being so nice to her. She had been cordial in the past, but this was possibly the only time that the two girls had a private conversation or that Ashley had acknowledged her more than just in passing. Amber was a little nervous about how Ashley may respond with how close her and Zack seem at times. Amber doesn’t consider herself very perceptive but was convinced that there’s something there between Ashley and Zack. She even had the brief flashback of Ashley hurrying away from the room Zack was sleeping in at Heather’s party. Amber’s curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn’t help but ask Ashley, “Ash if you think he’s so great, why aren’t you dating him?”

Ashley was floored by the question and stiffened up for a moment. ‘She did not just ask me that!’ Ashley internally questioned while doing her best to keep her fists from balling up. ‘How dare she pry into my relationship with Zack! Do we know this newfound nice girl act isn’t fake to begin with? Just days ago, she was friends with Naomi and Zack’s asshole cousin after all. Out of nowhere she is instantly head over heels for Zack? Something doesn’t add up!’ the thoughts continued to build up in Ashley’s upset mind. Amber clearly meant no offense or intrusion, but her innocent curiosity could be read differently from others. “We are friends!” Ashley snapped back before trying to adjust her tone and hide her emotions. “I mean we’ve known each other forever. We are almost like family. Zack’s my best friend. We are both good with it this way.” She responded with a softer tone this time. “If Zack finds a girl that makes him happy, then I’m happy too.” Ashley gave the confused girl a light smile and a small hug. Amber also beamed at her response and was glad to have Zack’s best friend’s approval. While Amber returned the hug quite a bit tighter, Ashley saw someone who caught her attention and sparked an idea.

Scott noticed Ashley down the hall with one of her cheerleading friends. He smiled at their friendly conversation and felt his cheeks getting warm at being in her presence. Ashley kept her word and the two did hang out a little bit at lunch the day before. The chats were casual and friendly, but Scott felt himself getting more comfortable around the beautiful girl. It certainly helped that he was basically the only athlete not suspended so he didn’t have to worry about any judgement or worse, facing Brandon. When he saw Ashley take notice of him, they both shared a smile, and she waved him over.

Ashley gently pulled away from the hug and saw Scott making his way over to the two. ‘This is a good plan even for me.’ Ashley thought pleased with herself. “Hey Scott! Have you met my friend Amber?”

___

Brandon couldn’t stop thinking about how dumb he acted the day before and how he for sure messed things up with Victoria this time. Not to mention that the news of trying to kiss the best friend of his ex-girlfriend was bound to make its way around. At this rate he’d be the joke of the town, if he isn’t already. Brandon heard someone approaching the porch and rushed to the living room to see if it could be Victoria. To his disappointment, it was Madison. The look on her face made it very clear that he better not think about talking to her. His fiery twin pushed through him and made it to her room before slamming the door. Before he could put too much thought about how long his sister intended to give him the silent treatment, he heard a second person approach the door. Brandon rushed over and to his disappointment it was Victoria’s friend, Alice.

“Alice? What are you doing here?” The jock said with his head full of confusion. He was aware of who she was but couldn’t for the life of him remember if he’d had as much as a conversation with her in the past. If his memory can be trusted, he’s pretty sure that she’s dating a basketball player at that. Alice rolled her eyes and pursed her lips as she clearly wasn’t happy to be there or at all interested in entertaining a conversation.

“Victoria, for whatever reason, volunteered to drop off your schoolwork today. Of course, some mysterious emergency came up with the paper and she needed me to drop this off instead.” “She owes me so damn big for this.” Alice added on under her breath as she broke her eyes off of Brandon for a moment before now refocusing with an obvious fake smile. Brandon sunk a bit as this confirmed that Victoria must be dodging him. He wasn't sure if he'd even get a chance to apologize at this point. He started to follow up with questions or even attempt to be cordial but the glare from Alice made it pretty clear to the guy that he shouldn’t push it.

“Oh ok. Well thanks for helping me out then.” Brandon barely managed to say, not daring to trigger the already edgy girl.

“Yeah, that’s me, Ms. Charitable.” Alice added again while dripping with sarcasm. “I’m not real sure why Vicky was helping you out in the first place. I can think of a hell of a lot better uses for her time.” Alice then turned quickly and stomped down the driveway, back to her car.

___

Clark Bishop finished his homework from the first day of suspension and was able to knock out some chores for the day before finally making some time to practice some basketball drills in the driveway. Of all the guys who were suspended for fighting, Clark was probably the most indifferent. He had no emotional or personal reason for joining in other than the fact that his team was involved. If someone was going after his teammates, then they’d have to deal with him too. He was already conspiring at how he could help use to the squad’s benefit on the court. He also took note of which guys banded together and which cowered from the football players. Maybe he’s even been a bit hard on Zack in the past and could even talk to his mostly estranged cousin about it all. ‘If he brought that kind of fight and passion to the court, he’d actually get some playing time.’ Clark assumed.

Clark finished his practice and made his way in the house to freshen up. Before he could make it to the shower, he heard the doorbell go off, not once or twice, but three times. The aggravated guy made it to the front door and peaked out of sight glass but could only see the movement of blonde hair. When he opened the door to investigate further, he was greeted by the locked-on gaze and Cheshire smile of Amanda.

“Hey there Clark. Lucky me just happened to be assigned to bring you your assignments for the day. Maybe I can help you study.” Amanda added while starting to trace the folder down his fit chest. Clark let out an agitated grunt and impressively snatched the papers from her teasing hand and turned just as fast. The caught off guard Amanda tried to at least check out his ass as his foot caught the edge of the door and all but slammed it on her. Not one to be easily rattled, Amanda pouted only slightly before turning it into a devilish smile. ‘Keep playing hard to get Clark.’

___

Kevin was certainly thrown off from how Chloe exited so quickly the day before and even more so of hearing little back from Zack about how she was doing. Zack kept it pretty brief on Chloe just needing a bit of time but for the guy to not take it personal or that Chloe didn’t insinuate that he’d done anything wrong. That brought Kevin at least a little bit of peace. To distract himself and in possible hopes of Chloe stopping by again, Kevin completed his workout early and had just showered in anticipation. Right around 3:30, his hopes came true, and he saw Chloe’s car pull up to the front of his house. He wiped the goofy smile from his face and tried to casually walk down towards the door, hoping that his excitement wasn’t too obvious. Just as Chloe was about to knock on the door, Kevin slung it open startling the girl whose stomach was now full of butterflies.

“Hey Chloe! I’m so glad to see you. Look I’m sorry if I…” Chloe reached forward and silenced the guy.

“No, I’m sorry for rushing off and I just need to say something really quick. Is it ok if I come in?” Kevin nodded and walked the redheaded girl into his living room before offering her a seat. Chloe took notice that it was a very nice home and liked seeing the family pictures that decorated the tables and walls. She then looked back at the guy who was keeping her up late at night and thought back to the words that she had prepared. “Look Kevin, I like you a lot honestly.” Kevin couldn’t help but cringe as this is usually where a ‘but’ followed. “But I’m a virgin and haven’t actually done anything with a guy before.” Kevin was a bit caught off guard to hear her say it so bluntly but gave her a reassuring smile as he lightly took her hand. Her actions had made it pretty clear, whether she was aware or not, that she was inexperienced. “I guess I was waiting to find a guy that I like and trust. I’ve been thinking though, that maybe I don’t want to be for much longer. Well maybe I would need to work my way there, but I have to learn somehow, right?” Chloe said now red in the face but staring intently into Kevin’s eyes all the same. Kevin took a hard swallow and never once looked away from the sexy girl in front of him. Kevin went to respond to only be cut off by Chloe. “Is anyone home right now?” Again, Kevin only responded with the shake of his head to confirm that the house was empty. That was all Chloe needed to hear before she pounced forward and mashed her lips to his. She had no clue what she was doing but she no longer cared. She isn’t an all-state soccer player by being hesitant and asking for instructions. Chloe decided it’s time she showed this guy just what she is made of.

___

Zack couldn’t lie that he was much more at peace during his second day of suspension than he was the first. A certain blonde haired girl may have played a role in that. He decided to make better use of his time and did a little reading before shifting his focus back to his unsolved mystery. 'Who sent the photos of him and Madison kissing?' He searched through the yearbook for what felt like the tenth time to identify anyone who could fit the crime. As he mostly excused any of the basketball players, he made note of several football players who could want to see him harmed. Trent Thornton and Russell Stanley were at the top of that list. He quickly jotted their names down in his notepad and created lists of what they could have gained from this. It wasn’t long after that he saw both Harrison Cullen, Naomi Collins, and Sharon Miller. None of the three seemed likely to start a Zack fan club anytime soon and of them frankly just seemed cruel enough to find hurting others fun, regardless of motive. His eyes settled momentarily on his other cousin Clark Bishop. Clark and Zack have never quite seen eye to eye, but this didn’t really feel like something Clark would do. When Zack was honest with himself, even when Clark was at his rudest, he still seemed to want to toughen Zack up. Judging by the angles of the photos, Zack couldn’t rule out that it was someone from the yearbook or newspaper. It appeared that the photographer had experience and knew how to take the perfect shot. This brought doubt that any of the bumbling athletes were behind it. His mind now started playing tricks on himself. Could it have been the icy Grace Smith who has seemed to hate him for years or maybe even Victoria herself, who he still can’t figure out where he stands with? As the list of potential culprits grew, Zack only knew one thing for sure. His list of haters was giving him a headache. Zack backed away from his desk and rubbed his forehead a bit while wondering if he’s taking this all too seriously. He then remembered how upset Madison was and knew that he had to solve it for her sake. The wannabe detective was curious if Brandon was making any progress himself. He heard the noise of something bouncing off of his bedroom window and made his way over to check it out. A feminine hand waved at him from the window before motioning him towards the door. His curiosity peaked as he just noticed that it was around 4 p.m. and smiled at the thought of getting to spend some more time with sweet Amber.